Dumbledore's Tale
by rocketgod123
Summary: Before he became the greatest wizard of all time, Dumbledore was a school boy himself. Watch his tale unfold as he journeys through life at Hogwarts and the challenges it poses. See how he grows to the character we all love and know and how he battles with the forces of evil. Rated T to be safe. 1st year at Hogwarts. 1st of a saga of books.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter, its characters or its plot - however this particular story plot does belong to me along with a few other characters. Trust me, if I owned Harry Potter, my life would be very different.**

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 **A/N - As a fellow lover of Harry Potter, I decided to do what many others have done before me: explore some other characters of the Harry Potter series.**

 **Unlike others, I won't focus on characters which have now been greatly explored, such as the Mauraders, Malfoys, Weasleys and Severus Snape. Instead I will look at the childhood of one of the most influential characters of the whole series: Dumbledore.**

 **Dumbledore is a fascinating and intelligent character, so mysterious, and yet so lovable. He is a character which has always enthralled me, and yet so little of his childhood has been explored, and as far as I know, very little fanfics talk about him as the main character, focusing on him when he was a young child, and how he came to be one of the greatest wizards of all time. Bearing this in mind, I would like to offer you my newest fanfiction story; I present to you:**

 **Dumbledore's Tale**

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"It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

 _Albus Dumbledore_

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 **Prologue**

 **A warm Summer's Day, 1881**

Once upon a time, a long time ago, Albus Dumbledore, the most famous Hogwarts' headmaster of all time, and often known as the greatest wizard in all of history, was born.

It was a typical and warm 1st July in 1881. The sun shone gently, bathing the inhabitants of the small town in syrup like sunlight. Percival and Kendra Dumbledore were in the midwife's house had their first ever child; Albus Dumbledore.

Writhing in the hands of his loving mother, Albus had sparkling blue eyes and was crying immensely. Percival stared at his son lovingly, noting how Albus had his own blue eyes, but otherwise looked remarkably similar facial characteristics to his mother.

"He looks just like me." Kendra said, turning to her husband. Percival nodded, a smile plastered on his face. As the midwife swathed Albus in clothes, waving her wand wildly, Percival hoped that Albus would be able to live up to his expectations. Finally, the midwife spoke to them, giving them instructions, and they were on their way to their home in Mould-on-the-Wold. Kendra was as composed as ever, and people kept a wide berth of her; despite their new-born baby, very few people came to congratulate them. Percival had grown used to this over the years. However, a few people did pluck up the courage to confront the couple from time to time, and so he was not at all surprised when old Ben Flitwick congratulated them warmly, and shook their hands. Other than this, they walked straight home, ready to learn how to look after a baby.

Howling, the baby was to put to bed and from that day forth was brought up as a wizard by his temperamental father and strict mother.

"A very special baby," the midwife had told them. If only she knew just how right she was.

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 **A/N - Please understand that this will be sticking as close to the truth as possible, including ages, characters and plots. This story is not only meant to answer the hundreds of questions that Dumbledore leaves behind, but also to uncover how such a troubled and power-hungry character became to be the character he ended up being.**

 **I won't lie to you, this will start off as a horrific story, but will also try to add to the character of Dumbledore, as well as to have its own riveting plot with evil masterminds and will be VERY dark at times. I hope you enjoy :)**

 **Happy New Year**


	2. Chapter 1 - The Attack

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Sadly.**

 **Well hello there wonderful readers :)**

 **I'm back - with an update too!**

 **Happy New Year! I can't believe it's _2016_ already!**

 **Well, I hope you enjoyed your New Years Eve and Christmas; I know that I certainly did! I guess this is like my welcome to the new year from Dumbledore -like my second one, seeing as I updated Colliding Worlds too- if you haven't read that yet, chapter 28 is out. And an All's Fair update should be coming soon... ;)**

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 **I'll reply to both my reviews (THANK YOU GUYS!):**

 **awynn22: Thanks for all the positive feedback, there is a _LOT_ more to come ;) I'm definitely going to take a look at your story - sounds interesting! Can't wait to read it. **

**Wonderlandian me: Thank you so much, you made my day when I saw this, as soon as I saw this, I _HAD_ to update, so here it is for you :) And I can't promise about the cliffhangers, but if you keep enjoying it and reviewing, I can promise regular updates ;)**

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 **Anyway, I'll cut off my AN here cos your probably bored, and I want you guys to be able to read this chapter... so here it is, the first chapter of Dumbledore's Tale. Enjoy :)**

 **P.s All the quotes have relevance to the chapter and as part of the story as a whole - pay attention :)**

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"Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy."

 _Albus Dumbledore_

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 **Chapter 1- The Attack**

 _Nine and ¾ years later, April 1892_

Albus was walking home after a hard day at his muggle school, but was surprisingly happy. It was the final day of the Easter term, and he would finally be able to practice magic continually (in secret of course), in the hope of receiving a place at Hogwarts, the famous school of Wizardry. His brother, walking a bit behind him, was talking to a muggle about all sorts of rubbish; Albus preferred not to stoop to his brother's idiotic level. He had a very low opinion of his brother, and more importantly his brother's friends. How he could be related to someone of such low levels, Merlin only knew.

Albus turned round to look back and check where his brother and sister were. Not that he really needed to check on Aberforth, his brother, as he was laughing with his friend very loudly. But he couldn't see Ariana, his six year old sister. Albus cursed beneath his breath, where had she gone? He turned round and gave Aberforth a look. Aberforth caught on and stopped walking, but continued to talk loudly about some silly, new muggle sport called football with his friend; waiting for Albus to go find their younger sister.

Albus walked quickly, scanning either side of him as he retraced his steps towards his school. They had been the last few students to leave, with each of the sibling waiting for each other and for Aberforth and Ariana's friends. But, no matter where he looked, he couldn't find her. He considered using a spell to find her - an _"Accio Ariana!"_ charm would have worked nicely; but last time he used that with his father's wand he had received twenty lashings from his mother—ten for using the charm on his sister and ten for stealing his father's wand. It was probably not worth it. Instead he turned round, ready to look for her on his way back to get Aberforth to help find her. At least she had a magical friend to accompany her, rather than that stupid git that Aberforth hangs around with, he thought with a sigh. As he was walking back he heard a slight sound.

It had been nothing, just the whisper of voices from afar, but Albus' sharp hearing (only slightly magnified by magic) had been enough to catch it. Resigned to having a look, Albus climbed quickly over the fence and quietly walked towards where he had heard the noise from. From afar he heard a laugh, but it didn't sound anything like his sister's. As much as he wanted to believe that she was not there, he had a very bad feeling that his sister was indeed in this direction. He hurried, making sure to stay silent and praying to Merlin that his sister was alright, else his mother and father would crucify him. As he drew nearer, he heard a scream.

There was no doubt in his mind – that scream had belonged to his sister. Albus broke into a sprint, no longer worrying about staying silent. Turning the corner, he tripped over something and landed with a painful thump on the ground. As he looked up, he saw his sister, tears smudged across her face, surrounded by a group of older muggle boys. Suddenly, he felt a weight land on him, and looked up to see a boy about five years older than himself sitting on him, grinning. That was what had tripped him up, he realised.

As Albus watched, the boys called Ariana names. "FREAK!" one yelled, pushing her to the ground. Albus pushed upwards with all his weight, hoping in vain to shift the lump which was preventing him from helping his sister out. For all his efforts, all he received was a sharp kick in the ribs.

"Tell me what you were doing just now, girl." One of the boys asked, flanked by the other two boys. He was clearly the leader.

"Get away from my sister!" Albus hollered in desperation. This could not be happening, it just could not. His sister turned and faced him for the first time in the confrontation.

"Albus!" She cried, her voice panicky.

The leader of the gang turned to face Albus, "Oh look, another freaky fairy," he sneered. He turned to the other members of his gang; "What should we do with the other abnormal child, boys?" He looked around.

"What we normally do," one of them suggested, sniggering to himself.

"Don't be foolish, Peter, this one is too old. Who knows what he could do to us? I say we let him take his sister home after we teach her not to do that in public." The other boy flanking the leader said, his lips creeping up in an eerie smile. He turned round and kicked Ariana in the shin. She shrieked in pain, crying hysterically.

"I tell you let her go, otherwise I will hurt you!" Albus yelled, attempting to put on his scariest voice.

The boys laughed, "Come on then, ickle boy." One of them sneered, turning back to him. They knew he had no chance – wandless and injured, Albus was powerless as he watched the boys abuse his sister, tears streaming down his own face even more than his sister's.

Ariana was never the same again. Confused, disturbed and ashamed, she was confined to the house that evening, Albus' parents questioning him ferociously about the event after the boys had let them go. He had never seen his dad this angry, and he feared for the town and his sister greatly. But what scared him even more was to see his mother lose her temper, for the first time he had ever seen. Albus felt guilty—how could he have managed to lose her? Now she was beyond damaged, he had no doubt that this would continue to haunt him forever, and would affect Ariana until the day she died.

Unable to go to sleep, Albus stayed up all night, nervous about his sister, and hoping with all his might that she was right. But when he got up, exhausted from his sleepless night, he was confronted only by bad news. His sister had had a nervous breakdown and was unable to perform magic, no matter how hard her parents tried to force it out of her.

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The next day, Albus stayed within the safe confines of his room; at least he could not get caught there for attempting to use magic. Practicing his concealing charms, he studied the ancient book perched on his threadbare bed. It belonged to his dad, and Albus was using it to practice his magic before he went to Hogwarts. This particular book had taught him exactly how to perform many spells, but wandlessly- he'd had no success until today - he had finally managed to get the simple concealing charm to work. He knew it was extremely ancient and powerful magic, and was very interested by this. Now more than ever, he had an intense desire to learn wandless magic—he couldn't let that happen to Ariana or anyone ever again—he had to have some defence.

Ever since he had finished all the books lent to him by people in the town as well as all his parents books about Hogwarts and magic in general, Albus had occupied himself by trying to learn and perfect every charm in his father's wandless spell book. As he sat, focusing hard on trying to conceal all the in his room, he became lost in his thoughts, writing notes on each spell, how to use them and which were the most effective. He was thoroughly excited by his breakthrough in wandless magic—although he still had only managed it once.

Little did he know that his father had decided to seek revenge on the gang who had attacked Ariana yesterday. Therefore, when his dad never returned that evening, he was just as worried as the rest of his family, wondering what had happened. Working late into the night had become routine for Albus, wrapped up in his spells as he was. And so, finally succeeding with basic wandless magic, he finally retired to bed, noting the usefulness of that particular concealing charm down. Pondering over his father's sudden disappearance, he once again got very little sleep, although he did manage to get a few hours before the birds chirped outside his window, waking him at dawn.

As he wandered down to breakfast with the rest of his family, he was surprised that his father still hadn't returned. However, it seemed that the rest of his family were not surprised. Albus, scanned the room; it was silent other than the scratch of a quill on a scroll of paper—an unusual occurrence. Studying their faces, Albus knew something was wrong. "Mother," Albus said in a calm tone, "What happened?"

When his mother's eyes met his, he knew that something _bad_ had happened. Very bad. "Albus," her tone was clearly anguished; a tone Albus had never known his mother use. "Why don't you sit down?" She gestured to his seat at the end of the table. "We received an owl last night. You'd better read it," she finished, unable to look him in the eye any longer. His mother had never been sufficient at being empathetic with others, and always struggled to get messages over to Albus—often that kind of thing was left for Aberforth or his father.

She handed him the letter, written by the Ministry of Magic. As Albus read, a hopeless sense of dread spread through his body. Having attacked the muggle gang, leaving them all dead, his father had been caught by a group of Aurors and magical law enforcers and was currently about to be sentenced to life in Azkaban.

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 **Cliffie :)**

 **I might just be evil, huh?**

 **Anyway, an update _should_ within the week, if all goes to plan. But I am starting school again :( so I will have less time to write the three stories I am currently writing.**

 **Please do check out my other two stories:**

 **All's Fair (Update coming tomorrow probably...)**

 **Colliding Worlds (Updated a few days ago)**

 **I love each and every one of your reviews, and would love to hear what you make of my stories, good or bad! I will reply and take on every one of your reviews, and they really inspire me to write more :)**

 **Read, enjoy and review! :)**


	3. Chapter 2 - A Special Letter

**Hey there! I updated early just for you guys :)**

 **Please check out my other storied too if you get the time: Colliding Worlds (PJO, HP crossover) and All's Fair (PJO AU), which I update at least once a week!**

 **I can't promise that I will be updating every week, because school is piling on the workload, but I am trying, and all your comments really inspire me to write quicker, so thanks for all of those!**

 **Hope you are enjoying this story, and if you are, please tell me why! If you have any ideas for the book, or ideas for quotes I should use, or for anything you want to discuss, please do leave a review, I read and reply to every single one.**

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 **Ok so thanks to my reviewers of chapter 1, you guys both made my day when I read them!**

 **Wonderlandian me: Thanks for all the positive comments! They mean a lot to me :) I agree, bullying is horrible, although I feel that being killed was probably a bit harsh. I also think Ariana is a very interesting but unexplored character - her whole story is very tragic, and I'm not going to be putting a damper on this, so get the tissues ready...**

 **awynn22: I read your fic, and really enjoyed it! Its quite an interesting approach on the Marauders, and I love any Marauders fic - cannot wait to see what new content you are going to write! Keep going :) And thanks for all the compliments, I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and the picture, and I hope you enjoy this too! And get prepared for more cliff hangers...**

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"Youth cannot know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young."

 _Albus Dumbledore_

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 **Chapter 2 - A Special Letter**

 _1 and a ¼ years later_

Albus could not evade the whispers which surrounded him wherever he or his family went. Soon after the incident, his mother had moved the family to an unassuming neighbourhood known as Godric's Hollow. The family were silent, kept themselves to themselves, and Aberforth and Albus were home-schooled. Ariana, on the other hand, was kept in her room, sometimes coming down for food. She seemed unable to control her magic any more.

Originally everyone had thought that she had lost her magic and that it had completely left her, until she managed to smash the cauldron, spilling hot water everywhere. Whenever she was emotional, she lost control of her power and without trying, a catastrophe would occur. First she destroyed their cauldron, then she smashed the window. Just yesterday she had nearly burnt the house down, had it not been for Albus who had put it out quickly with a jet of water (he had inherited his father's wand and was putting it to good use); their house would have been burnt to a crisp.

Even for Albus, who loved the solitude of his room and his magic; being alone for a month was starting to be a bit too much. He was tired of staring at the same charms and the same books over and over; tired of being restricted to the company of his mother and brother. He wanted to get out and explore his new town—he couldn't stand the feeling of being penned in. However, he could stand even less the way people crossed the street to avoid him. He heard every whisper- "that's Percival Dumbledore's son- the muggle attacker", always said with fear beyond belief. But as Albus grew more impatient and more upset, he couldn't help but feel guilty, and every night he relived that fateful afternoon; Ariana being beaten and tormented by the gang.

One day he decided that it was time to leave and to see what the town was like. It was the afternoon before his birthday, June 31st. As he left the house silently, he decided to get some fresh air, and to discover what the village of Godric's Hollow was like.

As he wandered out, baking under the unforgiving sun, he could immediately feel the whispers. His body changed from boiling from the heat to a freezing cold which suffocated him. The whispering was everywhere. It surrounded him like the plague; as people stared or pointed or whispered in their friend's ear. They crossed over to the other side of the street, or turned backward and speed-walked away. If they had less restraint, they turned and ran, often screaming, or looking terrified. People yelled things at him, but he ignored them after the first few jibes. A portion of Albus' brain told him to go back and die of boredom in the dusty books, practising magic—it would be better than dying of embarrassment out here, under the curious gaze of the villagers, as though he were an exotic animal in a zoo. That part of Albus' brain, despite being right, was ignored. He could not just sit and stare and be bored—he had decided to explore the village, and that was what he was going to do. And so, Albus' stubbornness winning out, he carried on walking, head held aloft, ignoring every one of the villagers.

Godric's Hollow turned out not to be particularly interesting, and as he turned to walk back and return to his house, he noticed her. She was not special in any way—a middle aged witch was not uncommon in this street, as he had found out. The strange thing was that she was walking on his side of the road. She had not pointed, stared or whispered. Nor had she freaked out, screamed or crossed the road. Albus wondered whether she had seen him, but when she looked up and met his eye, he knew that she was different. She looked impartial, as though she could not care less that his father had murdered three muggle boys. She gave a long stare, that pierced through him, but Albus was feeling brave, so he kept his head high, returning the stare, as they walked ever closer together. He wondered why she was not scared, why she did not think that his family were freaks or evil genii. He wondered why-

"It's a lovely day, isn't it dear?" The woman said, looking directly at him, interrupting his thoughts.

"Uh—I guess it is." Albus said, gulping. He had not expected that. She was looking him up and down as if carefully judging him.

"Well, it's awfully hot too, and you look tired. Would you like a drink?" She asked him kindly, giving him a motherly glance.

Albus was caught off guard, his eyes widened, but he managed to get an answer out, "Thank you, but I'm okay," he said, smiling. He pulled himself together—it was not difficult, he had talked to strangers before. Although, he was starting to prefer the tranquil isolation of being feared to being talked to by a random villager.

"Are you sure, dear? You look like you could use a cold drink," she said giving him a stern look. He nodded, knowing that a crowd was starting to gather on the other side of the street. "Plus," she whispered, "I think you need a break from _them,_ " she said, tilting her head and eyes gesturing to the crowd of people who were muttering.

"Oh." Albus was rarely caught off guard, and he mentally reprimanded himself for being caught off guard twice in the same conversation. "Well, I guess I am quite thirsty," he said without thinking. _What on earth are you doing?_ The voice in his head said—ever the voice of reason. Albus had no idea what on earth made him trust this lady, but he suddenly felt as though she understood him and knew him for what he really was—not just the murderer's son.

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So that was how Albus ended up having a cold drink of water and a chocolate frog (Albus' favourite sweet, a newly released magical sensation) at her house.

"What's your name, then, dearie?" She asked, looking at him.

"Dumbledore," he said sipping his water carefully. _Merlin's beard! Surely she knows my name? It has been nothing short of the biggest wizarding story for_ months _now._ He thought, worried that perhaps she would just attack when she heard what his name was.

"No, no; I know _that_ of course—I mean your first name dear."

 _Oh._ "Albus. Albus Dumbledore." He said, relieved that she had not attacked him or mentioned his father. He felt surprisingly good at being recognised for something which was not that his father was a muggle murderer and realised that it was the first time since _then_ that he had been asked of his first name.

"Ah," she peered over her glasses and stared at him. "Yes, Albus." She paused looking at him again, then smiling. "Well, lovely to meet you Albus. I'm Bathilda Bagshot."

Albus gasped, surprising himself. _The_ Bathilda Bagshot. Author of "A History of Magic", and a very famous magical historian. "Wow," was all he could get out as he realised that he was sitting with a world famous wizard; sipping water and eating a biscuit in her house because she had invited him in and he had accepted on a whim. "Wow."

She chuckled heartily, and then said, "Better than most peoples' reaction—wizards aren't particularly fond of History of Magic as a subject, but there you go." She said, smiling at him.

"Pardon?" He said, before covering his mouth—he could not act like that in front of _Bathilda Bagshot_. She laughed waving it away. "I mean, how can they not? It's fascinating—I've read your book three times now—it's brilliant by the way." he said sheepishly, realising that he was jabbering like a child. "Sorry."

"That's quite alright, it's the most interest in my subject I've ever seen," She said smiling. Albus breathed a sigh of relief.

Albus could not believe how easy it was after that and how at home he felt—he felt more welcome than at his own house. They talked for hours about all sorts of topics. They were just having a particularly interesting debate about the origins of the first wizard civil war in England 700 years ago when Bathilda exclaimed; "Oh my! Look at the time. You'd better get going, my dear." Albus thanked her and stood up to leave.

"Oh, Albus, one more thing." He turned and smiled at her. "How old are you?"

Albus broke out into a grin for the first time since… _then._ He did not even know why, but he just liked people caring about a simple aspect of his life. "10, turning 11 tomorrow." He said, thinking happily about his birthday.

"Oh, congratulations! I'm sure it'll be a good birthday," she said with a wink. "A few years older than Gellert." She said under her breath.

"Pardon?" Albus said, unable to hear what she had just mumbled.

"Oh nothing dear, don't worry. Enjoy your birthday, it'll be a fine day," she said; giving him a knowing look. He smiled and thanking her again, left to go back to his house.

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Albus lay in bed wide awake, struggling to fall asleep because he was excited for his birthday, contemplating what had happened that afternoon/evening. He wondered why she was so easy going, and did not mind the fact that his surname was Dumbledore; nor that he had stayed at her house for four hours. Yet, despite that, one question kept bothering above all others; _how did she know that his birthday was going to be good?_

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As Albus woke, he checked the time on the magical clock mounted on the wall by Aberforth's bed. 6:34 am. Nobody would be up, but that had never stopped Albus before, and neither would it on his birthday. Albus doubted that he would get many presents—normally his brother and sister got one for him and his mum and dad would buy him some clothes, or perhaps a book if he was lucky. But this year his sister and dad were not going to get him presents. Everything had changed, and Albus could not help but let the fear and guilt creep into his mind as once again he relived that horrible day.

His brain went numb, thoughts rampaging through his mind, and he struggled to keep his breath under control. _It's getting worse._

Ever since that fateful day, he had been losing control of his thoughts and every time it got worse and worse. He swallowed, trying to control his breathing. But Albus felt a warmth rush over him as he remembered what had happened yesterday. _At least someone understands._

As Albus stumbled down the stairs, eyes drooping and brain spinning, he noticed something peculiar. For the first time in a very long time, there was a letter by the front door. And Albus knew because for the past five years of his life, he had been the first one up and had wandered downstairs to check for mail. The last time they had got mail, it was from the ministry, about his father being sent to Azkaban. So, with great care, he ambled over to the letter, not wanting to open it; but feeling obliged to. As he looked at the letter, he realised it was addressed to him. A birthday card! Albus had never received a birthday card before, so this was very exciting to him—he wondered who it was from.

As he opened the letter, his eyes widened: he was going to Hogwarts, the finest School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

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 **Well there it is! Albus is a student of Hogwarts now. What do you guys think of Bathilda Bagshot?**

 **If you liked it, please review quickly, it'll make me update quicker. I hope to update within the week, but I can't promise anything.**

 **Read, enjoy and review! :)**


	4. Chapter 3 - Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter. Still.**

 **Hey! :)**

 **Well, here it is, the third chapter. I hope you all enjoy it! If you do, please review and tell me why, and if not, tell me what I should do to improve it. Its a long chapter too, just for you guys.**

 **Oh, and please check out my other stories too: Colliding Worlds (HP/PJO crossover) and All's Fair (PJO AU). They are updated regularly!**

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 **awynn22 - Gellert will not be a major character for a long time, but will still have some part to play in a few chapters! I'm always serious about cliffhangers ;)**

 **Wonderlandian me - Glad to know that you are enjoying these chapters! Do please keep on reviewing, you make my day every time I see your reviews!**

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We need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from and what might be possible.

 _Alan Rickman_

R.I.P

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 **Chapter 3 – Diagon Alley**

Albus' birthday could not have started any better and he was buzzing with excitement as he waited the seemingly endless few minutes before the rest of his family came down. Excited, he waved it in each of their faces—even Ariana's—yelling to anyone who would listen about how excited he was and what he would do there. Finally, after calming down enough to sit down and eat breakfast, his family wished him birthday and gave him his presents.

Aberforth had got him a pack of his favourite sweets—a new brand called Bertie Bott's every flavour beans (yes, _every_ flavour—you probably do not want to know…), and Albus popped one in his mouth, greeted by a lemon sherbet sweet. He thanked Aberforth and realising that Ariana had got him a present too, she offered him a book. Surprised, he took the book, and looked at it. It was ancient and looked as though it had belonged to his father and had the title, _"A Wizard's Guide to Magical Animals"_ , which looked to be an interesting read. Albus was happy when he saw that his sister was not entirely lost, and beamed even more after that (if that was possible)—and it seemed his brother and mother had noticed too.

Albus' mother held a present, wrapped in basic brown paper, and offered it to him kindly. He opened it eagerly, ripping through the paper quickly. He opened it and was surprised to see a robe fall out. It was a dark purple robe, which fitted him perfectly when he tried it on.

"It's perfect!" He cried, hugging his mother, as she gave him one of her rare smiles.

"Well, now that you have got your letter, we can go to Diagon Alley and I can buy you another birthday present," mother said, smiling at her grown up son.

"Can I come too?" Aberforth asked, looking at them hopefully.

"Sorry Aberforth, you have got to stay home and look after Ariana," mother said, looking at Ariana pointedly.

"Oh," Aberforth muttered dejectedly.

"You can come with me another time, don't worry," Albus smiled at his brother, hoping to keep the good spirits on his birthday.

Fastening his robe around him, and admiring himself in the mirror, he pulled out his Hogwarts letter and looked at the list of requirements.

 ** _Every student will need:_**

 _Uniform_

 _Three Sets of Plain Black Work Robes_

 _One Plain Pointed Black Hat_

 _One Winter Cloak_

 _Books_

 _Basic Charms: Volume 1 (Alexander Topplebee)_

 _Beginning Transfiguration (Isaac Tewnon)_

 _Want to Learn Potions? (Paius Pehaw)_

 _The Dark Arts: A Guide to Avoiding Problems (Isaac Tewnon)_

 _Defence against Magical Evils (Alfred Pehaw)_

 _Brewing Basics (Felix Ladel)_

 _A History of Magic (Bathilda Bagshot)_

 _A Beginner's Guide to Herbology (Esme Black)_

 _Other Equipment_

 _1 Wand_

 _1 Cauldron_

 _1 set of glass phials_

 _1 telescope_

 _1 set of brass scales_

 _Students may also bring a small pet to keep._

He wondered what pets the students at Hogwarts kept—hopefully they were not as stupid as his old neighbour, who had magically charmed a tiger to be tame and to prowl and guard the house and used it as a pet. He had been eaten two years later after forgetting to update his monthly spells. But he could not help wondering how his mother could afford all this. They simply did not have the money to spare, and all those books and clothing items could not come cheap.

Nevertheless, at 10 am on a bright morning on the first day of July, Kendra and Albus Dumbledore apparated to place close to a pub known as _The Fireplace_ which was a designated entry into the all famous Diagon Alley. As they landed, Albus' head spinning, silence descended on the pub. Everyone inside was staring at Albus in his mother, and slowly the whispering began.

"Freak!" One person said.

"Murderer," a slightly more obnoxious person called. No matter where they went, the whispering always seemed to follow. But they did not hang around long, Kendra pushing through the folds of people towards the entrance to Diagon Alley, and Albus close behind. As they started walking, people cleared out their way quickly, running to get away from them. Once again Albus marvelled at how everyone could judge them so easily, but having suffered like this before, he turned a blind eye to it.

Finally, they got out and after a quick walk, turned into Diagon Alley. One look at the marvellous street made Albus shiver with excitement—it was full of energy and life. Everywhere there was a wizard casting spells, waving a wand—there were cauldrons in all shapes and sizes, some being carried in hands, on heads, or some being magically trained to follow. There was one which was even designed with a foot at the bottom similar to that of the popular tale of the Hopping Pot. Owls hooted and flew overhead, and magically enhanced lights floated around, looking down on the whole scene. Everywhere Albus looked, there was a shop crammed into a nook or cranny of the street, some new and some old. But one building in particular struck Albus as magnificent—Gringotts. It majestically loomed over everything, a large crowd mobbed around its entrance, being let in one at a time by the goblin guards outside. It was an impressive sight.

But then, it became quieter, as people moved out their way, darting aside like they were evil warlocks (which he supposed they were in their eyes); pointing fingers and staring and muttering. However, it seemed that a few more people were more than willing to continue towards them. Some, it seemed, out of bravery; others congratulated them for Percival's actions (they clearly despised muggles), and a select few seemed more like Mrs. Bagshot—they did not seem to care either way. Albus noticed a large crowd of young children, who looked slightly older than he, who jeered at him as though he were a gorilla at the zoo. Finally they reached _Magical Robes and Hats,_ a clothing shop which was where they would be getting his robes. Despite the cold stares, they quickly bought the necessary requirements, and moved on to the next store, where they bought the cheapest cauldron which they could find. It turned out to be the dirtiest too.

As they exited, an extremely well dressed man walked in. Albus expected him to scarper at the sight of them, but he did not. He simply gave them an icy glare and looked down at his cauldron, in which were his robes.

"Nobody told me that this was a charity shop," the man said snootily, turning up is nose as if experiencing a bad smell. A snort of laughter came from behind him, and Albus noticed a small boy, about his age, standing behind the man. Kendra gave a piercing stare, which would send most people packing like a bunch of scared rabbits. The man did not seem affected in the slightest.

"Oh, I am sorry, I can be so _rude_ sometimes. I'm Lord Malfoy, of the Ancient and most Noble house of Malfoy. We all know exactly who you are, I'm sure," he exclaimed, as a crowd started to draw up, hearing the encounter. Anger swelled up in Albus, and he got a strong desire to punch the man square in his upturned nose. "And this is my fine son, Abraxius Malfoy." He gestured to his son with a polite applause from the audience. _Fine._ Ha! Albus doubted that he was a very nice person at all, especially with a father like that. But he decided not to judge someone based on his father—that would be too easy, would it not?

But he did not need any further encouragement to think badly of the boy when he spoke.

"Well, if there is one similarity between us," Abraxius started, staring pointedly at Albus, "it's that we aren't fans of muggles." A gasp went up in the crowd, slightly outraged by this statement. Lord Malfoy waved it off and shoved past the Dumbledores (sending Albus tumbling into a huge cauldron, which he ashamedly climbed out of, beetroot red with embarrassment), leaving Albus pondering just how much better the wizarding world was than the supposedly evil muggle world.

Moving on, he entered the book store ( _Magical Books for all Occasions_ ) behind his mother, carefully picking out all the books he needed out of the second hand area. _Beginning Transfiguration_ looked especially interesting, but the basic charms book was easy—Albus had mostly grasped the first few ones wandlessly, and he realised that he had mastered virtually the whole textbook with his father's wand, having had a flick through the contents. He already had _A History of Magic_ , so he did not buy that, and piling the books in his cauldron (which was now getting so heavy that Kendra had to put a basic floating charm on it), they entered the pet shop on Albus' insistence (it was his birthday after all).

There was really only one way to describe the situation in the pet shop; utter chaos. Owls were hooting loudly, flying throughout the shop, knocking over books and pet stands and customers. Plenty of customers were screaming, running hysterically to the door, or shaking their wands around as if their life depended on it, screaming all kinds of jinxes, and hitting other customers. Some ended up with boils on their forehead, a nose like a pig's or even fins as hands. One owl knocked over a cat's cage, setting it free to chase the other birds which were loose, as well as the toads which were clinging on to anything it could get near. Another owl swooped so low it quite literally pulled the feet from underneath their body, ending up on their enlarged horse like backside. All in all, it was not looking good for the pet keeper who was trying to resume order by running around frantically, waving his hand like a maniac. Then Albus noticed it.

There, flying above the chaos, as though it had orchestrated the chaos, was the most magnificent bird Albus had ever seen. It was scarlet and amber, feathers silky smooth and bright gleaming eyes that searched its surroundings like headlamps. Iridescent, with a golden plumage above its head, it shook its head and let out the single most beautiful sound Albus had ever heard, yet awe-inspiring at the same time. "Wow." Albus said, staring breathlessly at the bird. For that moment, Albus managed to forget the mayhem which surrounded him.

He was rudely reawakened to reality as an angry guest (lacking quite a bit of hair), pushed past him as she ran to exit the shop. But, Albus' eyes were locked with those of the bird and, almost too naturally, Albus said one word. "Stop".

Immediately, the bedlam faded. The owls stopped flying and rested on nearby stands, hooting softly. The cats and kneazles stopped chasing the other animals and curled into balls in their baskets. The toads stayed still, or returned to their cages, and the shopkeeper started to help reorganise things. But Albus didn't recognise any of these things. He could only stare at the elegant bird fly towards him and land on his shoulder. As it did, it started to sing, filling his heart with joy. Recovering from their jinxes and hexes, the people in the shop stopped and stared at Albus.

As Albus realised this, his first thought was that they had recognised him. Then he realised that the bird sitting on his shoulder was ruffling its feathers as he calmly stroked it. The shopkeeper's eyes were wide as he struggled to tear his eyes away from the extraordinary sight and back to his customers.

"B-but that's not possible…" the shopkeeper said, mouth hanging wide open. "It…I…No witch or wizard could control it. B-but you-", he was interrupted by Albus' mother, who was equally surprised.

"You tamed a phoenix." She finished, astonished. Everybody else seemed lost for words. For what felt like hours, Albus simply stroked the phoenix, marvelling at its beauty.

The shopkeeper started to speak after what felt like an eternity; "Well, you can have it. Really. No charge, nothin'. Causing me trouble since day one, that bird has," He pointed at the bird accusingly. Albus had a strange urge to defend the phoenix, but he kept quiet, sticking to attending to the bird. "That thing's done me an' my shop enough damage already. Thought it would be worth it in the end, they go for thousands of galleons, but every owner has 'ad it back within the day. Puttin' me out of business, it has. No wizard ever tamed it… never," he shook his head wondrously, pondering like everyone else, including Albus, how on earth he managed to calm the phoenix.

Albus patted the phoenix kindly, as if consoling it after the bad words which were just spoken about it. "Don't worry, you're lovely," he muttered to the phoenix under his breath. The phoenix gave him a look of understanding and somehow managed to share its emotions with Albus, and he understood how hard it was to be cooped up like a barn owl. With that, he slowly followed his mother out the door, giving everyone an even better reason to gape at him as he re-entered Diagon Alley.

There was only one item which Albus still needed to acquire—a wand. He followed his mother's brisk march across the street, noting how many of the people forgot to jump out his way and cower in fear, often paralysed by awe, mesmerised by the phoenix perched on his shoulder. His mother slowed, down, waiting for him to catch up. "Right, Albus, we need to get you a wand." She inspected her purse, sighing "just one galleon left, we will hardly be able to get you a good wand. But it'll be better than that wand of your-your… father's" she finished, tears in her eyes.

Suddenly Albus saw the fragility hidden behind her strong face, saw the anxiety and paranoia and _worry_ she had experienced. For the first time in his life, Albus saw a delicate, kind side to his mother. She seemed like a twig one could snap with their fingers, liable to breaking at any moment. It seemed like he had seen a whole new side to his mother which he had never experienced before. But the look was soon replaced by the resolute visage that his mother had often used, which he had once misinterpreted as anger.

"Oh, that's ok. But I would like to take a look at _Ollivander's Wands_ even if I can't get a wand there." Albus said, looking his mother straight in the eye. She nodded, and she met his eyes, and a mutual understanding passed through them. They were interrupted by the caw of his newly acquired pet.

 _Come one then, let's get you a wand._ The phoenix said, looking at Albus impatiently.

" _Sorry, um, we'll get going right now."_ Albus said starting to walk. His mother didn't follow—this time it was his mother's turn to stare him in the eye. Albus looked at her curiously. Why was she looking him in that way?

"A-Albus," his mother said, stuttering, "What did you just say?" she managed, choking on her words.

"What do you mean, I told it that we'd get going, right?" Albus frowned.

"Why on earth did you tell it that—and in what language did you tell it that?" She looked at him as if he were crazy. _That's it,_ he thought, _she's lost it._

 _"_ What do you mean, I spoke English, didn't I?"

"Albus, what you just said most definitely was not in English. Furthermore it appears you can understand your phoenix. You seem to be able to communicate it in Phoenix language or something…" she whispered incredulously.

That settled it. This was most definitely the oddest day of his entire life. First, the letter, then Diagon Alley. And now, here he was, standing outside Ollivander's famous wand shop with a _phoenix_ on his shoulder, _speaking_ to it. In phoenix language. And so, naturally, he did what every self-respecting person would do in that scenario. He laughed.

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 **There you go - Albus is almost ready to go to Hogwarts! All he needs is a wand - what wand do you think he'll end up with?**

 **What do you think about Albus and his pet phoenix?**

 **Next chapter should be up by soon! I will try my best anyway :)**

 **Remember, reviews really drive me to write, so the more feedback you give, and the more you all comment, the quicker I will write and the quicker I will update.**

 **The story will start to ramp up when Albus gets to hogwarts, but for now I need to keep things _relatively_ calm...**

 **:)**


	5. Chapter 4 - The Wand

**Hey there everybody! :)**

 **Here is my fourth chapter, on time (its a miracle) and I quite like it. Perhaps its a bit odd, but I promise its going to pick up VERY soon - Hogwarts is approaching quickly and it will be Christmas before you know it!**

 **Well, I hope you really enjoy this chapter, and remember to check out my other stories - Colliding worlds (PJO/HP crossover) and All's Fair (PJO AU).**

 **Read, enjoy and please leave a review telling me what you liked and didn't like.**

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 **awynn22: Well, not more than Percy Jackson... but close! ;) And here is a bit more Fawkes, he is quite an integral part of the story, which should be interesting. And you only have to wait one more week before Albus enters Hogwarts... don't worry.**

 **Wonderlandian me: I am really sad that they died; they were both so talented and still had many years ahead of them. A real shame. RIP. I'm glad you liked Fawkes and Malfoy, I do like to make allusions to the books quite a lot! And keep reading my other fics, they are getting updated weekly - I love all your reviews.**

 **So thannks to you two for the reviews, it really brightens up my day!**

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"But you know, happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."

 _Albus Dumbledore_

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 **Chapter 4 - The Wand**

Albus shook his head in disbelief. This could _not_ be happening. Maybe it was a dream? Albus hoped not—since getting that letter, Albus had experienced the best day of his life and he was not willing to let go of that and return to the world in which he cowered in his house in fear.

Coming back to reality, he decided that it was time to have a quick look at the wands in Ollivander's shop. He took a stride towards the door, his mother trailing behind.

When he saw it, all he could think was how odd it looked—it was cramped and dark inside, and as he walked in, he noticed that it was piled to the ceiling with wands; covering every space on the wall. Golden letters adorned the carefully made boxes and Albus gasped as he saw the uneven piles of wands stacked high on the desk, balancing as if by magic (later Albus realised that it _was_ magic).

"Hello there," a man said, popping out from behind the heap of wands. He was a small man, about Albus' height, with dark hair and pale skin. His eyes were vibrant, sparkling in the dim light and darting around constantly. "Albus… Dumbledore…" the man breathed, staring curiously at Albus.

Albus smiled weakly, frightened of the man already, he had a certain aura about him that unnerved Albus. How did he know his name? "And, it seems you have made a friend quickly," the man pointed at the phoenix on his shoulder which Albus had absentmindedly started stroking. "Fascinating creatures, you know, phoenixes. Strong magical properties, healing powers and," he looked Albus directly in the eye, "extremely difficult to tame." He cocked his head at Albus, "I wonder how you did it?" he seemed to be muttering to himself now. He brought a tape measure, which floated around and started to do measurements on Albus, prodding his arms and legs when it wanted him to stretch out a limb. "You are extraordinary, Albus. Even more than I expected." he announced, fixing a stare on Albus. He held out a pencil in front of him, writing on a piece of parchment which was unrolling and rerolling itself.

"Oh, Mr. Ollivander, I am afraid that we will not be purchasing a wand from you today, sadly." Albus' mother spoke, looking Albus sharply in the eye. Albus felt guilty immediately; he had been so wrapped up in the shop and the man that he had forgotten all about their money situation.

"What?" The man asked incredulously, " _Albus Dumbledore_ comes into my shop and does not buy a wand—why that is utterly preposterous!" The man squeaked.

All Albus could think about was why he was so special that he ought to buy a wand. Why him? He was just Dumbledore, son of Percival, the muggle murderer.

"No, no, no; that just won't do. Albus, I beg of you, you simply _must_ try a wand out-", he started.

"No, I am afraid not." His mother interrupted sharply.

"Well, there is no harm in trying out wands, now, is there Mrs Dumbledore?" smiled the man, strangely calm.

"Well, I suppose not," she said irritably, crossing her arms.

"Good," the man positively beamed. "Now, Albus, what do you think? Long or short? Which wood do you prefer? Which core suits you best?" The man said, flooding Albus with questions.

Albus had no idea what on earth he was talking about—the man was crazy, he was sure of it. Powerful and intelligent—but crazy all the same. "I…I don't know."

"No matter," the man exclaimed, deftly picking three different wands and shoving them into Albus' arms. "Try these out—do you know any basic magic?"

 _Only the whole 1_ _st_ _year book of spells,_ Albus thought; "I guess I taught myself the basics."

"Good, good. Well, could you try a simple revealing charm on this pencil with the wands? Don't worry about the results, that's my job." He laughed warmly, making the pencil invisible.

Albus nodded and picked the first wand out the box, and muttered the words; " _revelio_ " he muttered, pointing his wand at the invisible pencil. Out of the end of his wand came a silvery charm, which flew at the desk and dissipated. Nothing happened. Albus was disappointed—he had got it to work with his father's wand. Why was it not working?

"No, no, no!" The man shouted, surprising him. "Absolutely not. Does not fit you one bit." As he said this, he gestured for Albus to try the next, one, while nimbly pulling off more wands to add to Albus' to try pile. This time the pencil flickered briefly before once again disappearing. Each time Albus tried, it did not quite work, sometimes he received a flicker, but other times he managed to knock over boxes or piles of books and wands. All the while, his phoenix sat patiently on his shoulder, cooing every so often, calming Albus, who was increasingly growing frustrated.

But if Albus was getting frustrated, then the man was getting angry. He was rushing about frantically, muttering to himself, grabbing at a wand and sometimes putting it back, slapping his hand. Other times he excitedly watched to see if his latest choice of wand would work. The wand rejection pile grew majorly. The longer it seemed to go on for, the more excited the man would get, racing around the room like a lunatic.

Albus became engulfed in the game of revealing the pencil. Although he successfully managed to reveal it many times, the man simply was never happy. He started to scratch his head, hurling wand cases towards the table with his own wand, deep in thought.

After what felt like an age, the man suddenly let out a loud shriek and promptly toppled into a mountain of empty cases. He rushed back up and summoned an extremely old looking case out with his wand, flicking it in Albus' direction. "Try that!" the man cried, excitedly.

Taking the case, Albus pulled out a curious looking wand. Knobbly and quite long, it was dark, and extremely dusty. Albus pulled it out, prompting a dust cloud to attack his nostrils. Recovering from his coughing fit, Albus casted the charm again. This time he felt a tingle race up his spine, shooting a beautifully crafted spell at the pencil with ease. The pencil appeared immediately, without any flickers.

"Yes, yes. That's it. Try something else now." Albus kept shooting spells—levitating the rejected wands into the air as the man put them away and trying to help recover the room from the mess which had been created. The wand felt extremely natural and the magic flowed through it easily. He felt far more powerful, it was so much easier to use than his father's wand. This was more like an extension of his fingertips and he felt like he could do anything at that moment. His phoenix cawed loudly and ruffled its feathers, breaking into bird song—the beautiful sound filling Albus' ears again.

"Lovely. That wand is absolutely perfect for you Albus. Rigid oak wood with a basilisk plume core—how extraordinary. And if anyone told me you would end up with a wand 10 inches precisely, I would have laughed at them," he said, shaking his head wondrously.

"Yes, well that's all lovely and well," Albus' mother started to say, "but it really is time to leave now," she glanced at her watch. Albus crashed down to earth as he put the wand down and gave up that tingling feeling. He sighed.

She turned round and started to the door, Albus following. She looked at the man, twisting around; "and thank you Mr. Ollivander. Enlightening and intriguing as always," she uttered, whirling around again, cloak whipping Albus as she strode purposefully towards the exit from the maze of wands.

"Wait." The man called out just before the exit. "Are you… are you sure? That's one of my finest wands, perfectly suited to your very gifted son. You… you can't just say no…"

"I can—I just did. We cannot afford it." His mother said, as she pulled open the door. She didn't even break her stride.

"You don't have to pay for it!" The man suddenly yelled, looking as surprised as they were. "I… I have a deal." They stopped and looked back at him. "That phoenix is a wonderful creature, you know." He pointed at the phoenix, staring, "and they are even rarer to come by. Their feathers make very useful cores for my wands—in fact I am experimenting with phoenix feathers and I could really do with a few newer ones. So here's my proposal—you take the wand free, but I get to use any of the phoenix's feathers when I want—that is, if the phoenix will allow it." He looked at them, hope evident in their eyes.

Albus thought about it. It was a good deal. He did not know much about phoenixes, but he did not see a problem with giving away a tail feather every so often. "Yes." Albus said looking straight back at Mr. Ollivander, feeling confident. He walked back into the shop and thanked him for the wand, as he stroked the phoenix.

"You know," the man said, transfixed by the phoenix, "you should really name your phoenix. Powerful and intelligent creatures, they will be summoned at your call." He looked into the depths of Albus' eyes, and Albus felt like an open book ready to be read.

"That's a good idea I guess," Albus said, "Thanks very much. Uh, how will you, you know, tell me when you would like a feather?" He finished uncertainly.

The man raised his eyebrows; "I will know when I want one and can have one. Expect an owl." He smiled and waved them goodbye.

* * *

As Albus walked out again, he felt considerably happier. This may have been the strangest birthday of his life, but it was also the best day of his life; he now had a phoenix, a wand and most importantly, an invitation to Hogwarts.

As he entered his house again, a smile plastered on his face, he met his younger brother, who was buzzing to know what happened. Albus explained everything patiently. He got a particularly large "ooh" when he got a phoenix and a wand, but also told him about the Malfoy family. He sighed at that, clearly looking sad. However his spirits were rejuvenated when he heard that Albus could speak phoenix—he literally squealed like an agitated jarvey at that!

Still, they enthused over every little detail together, sitting in their room, chatting about everything from Hogwarts to pondering about his pet phoenix. Just before bed they talked about what he should call his phoenix.

"What about flash?" Aberforth giggled, covering his mouth. Albus gasped in mock horror.

 _"_ _What do you think?"_ Albus said (accidentally speaking phoenix again), directing the question at his bird. It squawked, shaking its head. It did this over and over at all the names which it did not like.

"What about Fawkes, huh?" Albus said, looking at his brother.

"I think it fits," his brother said as the phoenix suddenly took off and let out a breath-taking sound that Albus translated as yes. "And so does your phoenix," his brother ended, wondrously.

"Fawkes it is then."

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 **Hope you are enjoying this story, and if you are, please tell me why! If you have any ideas for the book, or ideas for quotes I should use, or for anything you want to discuss, please do leave a review, I read and reply to every single one.**

 **Do you like Fawkes and what do you think of his new wand? Predictions about what will happen on the train journey to Hogwarts? Share a review now and tell me what you think!**

 **If you liked it, please review quickly, it'll make me update quicker. I hope to update within the week, but I can't promise anything.**

 **Read, enjoy and review! :)**


	6. Chapter 5 - Hogwarts Abound

**Hey guys,! :)**

 **Here is the chapter, although I'm sorry it is a little late, I'm really busy right now; and I promise Ive tried my hardest to update ASAP, thanks to my wonderful reviewers.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it! If you do, please review and tell me why, and if not, tell me what I should do to improve it.**

 **Oh, and please check out my other stories too: Colliding Worlds (HP/PJO crossover) and All's Fair (PJO AU). They are updated regularly!**

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 **UnmaskedHearts: Thanks for your reviews, they were really kind! I'm glad you are really enjoying these, and I updates as soon as possible. I'm glad this is intriguing you and I will be delving further into Albus' life and trying to uncover reasons for his traits and characteristics displayed in later life.**

 **awynn22: Thanks for another wonderful review, I hope you enjoy the chapter. I'm glad you enjoyed the wand scene and the wand cores, it was very fun to write.**

 **wonderlandian me: Thanks for reviewing, I'm happy that you liked my little inclusion of the phoenix feathers, I like making those allusions. And yes he will be meeting Elphias Doge... in this chapter too... what impecable timing!**

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"There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger, and live just a little bit better."

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 **Chapter 5 – Hogwarts**

Albus woke up bubbling over with excitement; finally it was the day he got to go to Hogwarts. Although he was mostly enthusiastic about going to Hogwarts, he still had a few reservations about it. What would the people there be like? And what would they think about his father? Would they all be like Abraxius Malfoy and his father Lord Malfoy? He hoped not.

These thoughts continued to plague Albus throughout breakfast, although it seemed his brother was just as eager as he was about Hogwarts, but his brother was neither scared of what it would be like, nor anxious about how he would be received. "What do you think it will be like?" his brother asked, for the thousandth time.

Albus sighed exasperatedly, he had been stuck with this all day and he was not happy about it. What did he have to do to make his brother be quiet? "Oh, I'll only be able to tell you that _after_ I've been there, Aberforth," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

Not picking up on Albus' obvious lack of enthusiasm, Aberforth pressed the issue, "I know, but you won't be back 'til Christmas. Can you believe it, all the way until Christmas? It's gonna be so weird without you, Albus." His brother seemed to be bobbing up and down in his seat.

"I hope it's quieter at Hogwarts," Albus muttered under his breath. His mother gave him a glare and he shut up, picking at his breakfast; a meagre banana and a few oats.

As they were talking, Ariana had crept into the room, and sat down next to Albus, smiling dreamily at him. Albus smiled back, but beneath his kind façade he was worried for her. She had not been getting any better, although it had been some time since the last bout of accidental magic. Above all he feared she would never recover, and he felt guilty for it.

"Morning Albus," she piped up dazedly, staring into the space right beside him, "It's lovely and sunny today, don't you think?"

He widened his smile, whilst his innards coiled sharply, "Morning Ari, and I must agree, a beautiful day, not the kind to be spent stuffed in a train, heh?" He looked at her. She nodded, raising her spoon to her mouth but missing it, spilling her oats all over Albus. He laughed, "Don't worry," and bringing out his wand attempted a cleaning spell. Unfortunately, he didn't quite get it right and ended up with all the oats not back in Ariana's bowl, but stuck on his head. Ariana laughed lightly at this, whilst Aberforth nearly fell off his chair laughing like a hyena.

His mother looked at her watch and then spoke in her typical severe tone, "Well, Albus, if you want to get to the portkey in time, you had better hurry up, we need to leave in ten minutes." He started to quickly eat his breakfast, careful not to spill any down his Hogwarts robes; which he had decided would be the best thing to wear. Then he went to his room and finished packing. Putting his favourite book, _"A Wizard's Guide to Magical Animals",_ in his trunk, he fetched his final few possessions, a clock he had received from his father as a present for his tenth birthday, and a photo of his whole family, smiling and enjoying life back in their old home with all their friends. A wave of nostalgia washed over Albus every time he saw this, but he put it to the back of his mind, placing it in his trunk, carrying his wand, and then shut the case and locked it with a wave of the wand. He was ready.

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Fifteen minutes later and Albus was sitting in a heap on the ground beside his mother having landed awkwardly from the portkey. As he looked around, he saw a load of muggles staring at him incredulously. _Uh-oh._ He had forgotten about the muggles – they would find his clothing odd (as if _his_ clothing was the weird stuff…), never mind the multi-coloured bird sitting on his shoulder as though it had lived all its life there; and now he was slumped down on the floor as if he was dizzy from magical space travel… which he was. Portkeys may be fast, but they made up for their swiftness with the horrible lurching feeling that came coupled with it. Some wizards said that they got used to it after a while, but Albus was most definitely _not_ used to it yet.

Standing up quickly he fetched a trolley with his mother and watched in amazement as she walked briskly straight into a wall. Was she mad? But as she disappeared from sight, realisation dawned upon Albus and he too found himself on platform 9 and 3/4, the Hogwarts' Express ready to leave, smoking gently. As he arrived, he looked around – hundreds of witches and wizards with their parents; some looking terribly confused – clearly muggle-borns – and some strutting about as though they owned the place (knowing Lord Malfoy, they quite possibly did…). It was filled with all sorts of pets, from owls in cages to kneazles to toads; although none were quite as wonderful as Fawkes.

Silence descended like a curtain, the tension almost tangible in the air. Everybody was gawping at him except the muggle-borns, who were wondering why everyone was silent. Needless to say, they all noticed everyone staring fixatedly at Albus; who had a strange desire to wave like an animal at a zoo would in order to entertain his audience. His mother strode straight on, head held high, ignoring everyone else. Slowly, muttering broke out, people pointing and shrieking and moving away from his mother and him like they carried the plague. Albus had expected this, but that made it no more pleasant.

Suddenly someone spoke up, snapping the thread of silence clean in two. "You know, I think what your father did was honourable. Muggles are no more than rats to us; we ought to kill the bad ones." One boy procalimed, moving directly into the centre of the large circle in which were only the Dumbledores; everybody else had moved away from them.

Albus could not believe his ears. There were more like Lord Malfoy? Did they seriously believe in killing the muggle population? Were they mad? Still, he had no desire for everyone else to think he agreed with this boy. "Actually, I quite like muggles. Most muggles aren't like that, most are nice. It's like the magical world; some are kind and pleasant, others are… not." Albus gave a pointed look to the Malfoys and the boy who had joined them. There was no doubt now, if anyone had not being paying attention to Albus before, they most certainly were now.

"Hear hear!" Someone yelled.

"Liar! You hate muggles, you are just pretending not to!" another screeched.

"Madness, muggles are useless and despicable creatures!" Lord Malfoy shouted, attempting to overpower the rest of the crowd, which was breaking out a wall of noise, commenting on the drama which had just unfolded.

Acting unfazed, Albus walked on, and as the train honked, signalling its departure, he hugged his mum goodbye, kissing her on the cheek and climbed aboard the train.

Chattering amongst themselves, most the young witches and wizards avoided Albus as he climbed aboard the train, and as he tried to find somewhere to sit, most would not let him in. As he continued his walk down the train to find a seat, he noticed some boys pushing another and jeering at him. "Feeling a little _green_ today, Doge?" One said, sending the others into raptures of laughter, as they played with him like a cat does with mice before it eats them. The boy in question, named Doge, had broken out with green dragon pox and was looking queasy and very scared. Reminded of the event with Ariana all that time ago, Albus was painfully acute of how much he needed to intervene.

"Leave him alone." Albus said quietly, his voice carrying through the boys like a knife.

The boys faltered, turning to look at their next threat. Seeing a small first year, they laughed, "What are you going to do, muggle lover? Call your daddy – oh wait he's in Azkaban!" He sniggered at Albus' expense.

Knowing that he needed to stay calm, Albus breathed heavily and waved his wand at them, muttering an incantation. "This," he said simply, levitating them in the air. The "Doge" boy stared at him wondrously, before Albus spoke again, "I don't need to rely on my father, unlike you _Malfoy._ " He spat the name out like a venomous snake, having noticed Malfoy amongst the older boys. The boys were not as confident after that.

"Let us down, now!" Malfoy yelled in panic, squirming frantically.

"Say please." Albus said, smiling at the boy with dragon pox, who laughed back.

"Please let us down, we won't touch him again, promise." One of the other boys said, scared.

Albus decided it was game over and saw them off, and then joined the boy with dragon pox in a separate compartment. They sat down facing each other, trying to judge each other. "That was amazing," The boy whispered, staring at him in awe.

Albus waved it off, "Nothing really, just one of the spells in Basic Charms, Volume 1. Really those older boys should have been able to counteract it. Bit silly of them not to know that, honestly." Albus shrugged, "What's your name then?"

"Elphias Doge. You're Albus Dumbledore I presume?"

Albus grimaced, it seemed everyone knew his name. This was going to be harder than he thought. "Yeah, that's me. But I like muggles, like I said, I'm not like my dad." He sighed.

"Yeah, my family like muggles too. My grandma is a muggle, and we live in a muggle village too, which is quite unusual, but fun. But we always have to keep low when we play quidditch with friends, if we have them over!" They both laughed. "Do you play quidditch?" Elphias asked curiously.

"Not really, but I want to – maybe you could teach me?" Albus thought it was a good idea.

"You want... me to teach you quidditch?" The boy looked awestruck.

"Well, only if you want to-"

"Of course I want to! You just helped me against those boys and you're the best first year wizard from what I can see. I bet you are really good!" His eyes were wide and fixed on Albus.

"Oh… well I'm not that good, that's just the spell I practiced loads – came in handy I guess." Albus shrugged as though it were nothing. But it wasn't true; he knew the whole book inside out and had mastered virtually every charm.

"Well, who do you support, in quidditch I mean?"

"Puddlesmere United," Albus said, ready for the onslaught. Elphias broke down to an onslaught of giggles.

"No!" He gasped for air as Albus nodded solemnly, "That's terrible. I support the Chudley Cannons, best team in the league," he said proudly.

And so the boys continued to bond over quidditch, Hogwarts and everything in between over the long journey. Elphias taught Albus gobstones and exploding snap, and they shared some sweets and chocolates which Elphias bought, laughing and shouting the whole way there. Soon a girl who was a prefect came around and entered their compartment.

"We'll be arriving in about an hour, so you need to get changed into your robes." She announced bossily, looking at Elphias snootily, "and get that dragon pox _off_ your face, you look ridiculous." As suddenly as she had arrived, she left.

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In no time at all the train started to slow down and as Albus was eating a chocolate frog and laughing about Elphias' very dead looking toad, he caught a glimpse of Hogwarts. He stopped mid-sentence, caught off guard.

It was magnificent, but all he could think about was that he was finally here. Albus had arrived at Hogwarts.

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 **Albus has finally arrived at Hogwarts! YAY!**

 **Well there it is, I hope that you enjoyed it and as ever please leave a review. What did you think of Elphias Doge? What about Abraxius Malfoy, and do you like Albus' family?**

 **What do you think Albus is going to be getting up to in Hogwarts? Leave your thoughts below!**

 **Next chapter should be up soon, but when you guys review you really inspire me to keep writing, especially as my life becomes ridiculously more busy!**

 **Read, enjoy and review!**


	7. Chapter 6 - Welcome to Hogwarts

**Hey guys! :)**

 **Here is the chapter, although I'm sorry I am so late. I really am. I did warn you guys that from now on you shouldn't expect a regular schedule, and it will probably only get worse. Sorry about that. I'm really busy right now; and I promise I've tried my hardest to update ASAP, thanks to my wonderful reviewers.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it! If you do, please review and tell me why, and if not, tell me what I should do to improve it.**

 **Oh, and please check out my other stories too: Colliding Worlds (HP/PJO crossover) and All's Fair (PJO AU). They are updated when I can!**

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 **awynn22 - Thanks! I tried hard to create a realistic family which is kinda difficult considering everything they've been through, so I am glad you liked it. Please keep reviewing, I love them!**

 **Wonderlandian me - Glad you like it - and that character was based off a Percy weasley esque character, so glad that came through. Also kind of inspired by Hermione, of course :) Sorry the chapter is late, but maybe now I have alleviated your suffering?**

 **Bananacoolweird - I haven't forgotten to update, just sadly do not have the time. I hope you enjoy my presentation of youn' Dumbly-Dore!**

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"When you're in the position I'm in, you have two options: you can either shut yourself off from everybody, from the world, and not live a full life. Or you welcome everybody into your life."

 _Daniel Radcliffe_

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 **Chapter 6– Welcome to Hogwarts**

The train finally came to a stop as it was starting to get dark outside. The dark had descended on them quickly, a velvety, black pall which was thick and almost tangible, as though it were tingling with magic. As they got out, a very tall man with a loud, but cold voice started shouting. "First years follow me. Second years, follow everyone else, Prefects keep everyone in order, and for heaven's sake, don't get left behind!"

Albus dragged his case along with him, towards the back of the pack of first years following the tall man. They were chatting loudly amongst themselves; Albus was talking with Elphias as they trudged upwards towards the castle.

As they passed a bend, the castle came into sight and everybody gasped simultaneously – even Abraxius shut his mouth at the fantastic site. Silence descended on them as they walked towards the edge of the lake. It was glittering in the moonlight, milky dots waltzing about on the surface.

"Boats!" someone exclaimed at the same time as Albus saw them. Indeed, in front of them eight boats were lined up, magically moving towards the shore. As they reached a small jetty, they stopped and parked themselves up against it. The first year students clambered into the boats, and the boats magically rowed themselves towards the looming figure of the castle. Albus climbed into the boat after Elphias, followed by two girls and a boy who he did not know. The two girls were chatting animatedly, whilst the boy looked sulky and was silent.

"Long journey, wasn't it?" Albus said to them, stretching his arms. The boy nodded as the two girls turned towards him. They stopped chatting and nodded at him, eyeing him up warily. They looked exactly the same, with dark skin and long silky hair.

"Yes," they said simultaneously. Then they burst out laughing, and the laughter spread like an infection. Soon the whole boat was giggling except the boy in the corner who was inching away from them like they were toxic. As the boat rocked it tipped one way another and Elphias fell on the floor laughing. As he tried to get up, the boat lurched and he fell over the side of the boat into the icy water. The splash soaked Albus and the two girls, who just laughed harder, whilst the boy covered himself with his cloak, looking more and more irate by the minute.

Albus tried to contain his laughter as he reached over the boat to help Elphias, whose head was bobbing up and down in the water, cooling for help over mouthfuls of water. Albus helped pull him out, and nearly fell in himself; but he managed to get Elphias back in the boat before he toppled in too. Elphias looked horrified, shaking uncontrollably, his face tinged blue. "C-c-cold," he mumbled, sending everyone else into giggles. Albus cast a quick warming spell and he dried off and looked a lot better immediately.

"There, you should be fine now," Albus said, attempting to stop himself from laughing. He failed, as snorts of hysterics escaped.

Suddenly another boat pulled up to them – it was the last boat with the tall man they were following and Abraxius Malfoy in it. "WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT KID?" The tall man yelled, looking at them with an icy glare. Malfoy and his cronies were in hysterics, pointing at Elphias and slapping their knees.

"Ignore them," Albus said, never leaving Abraxius' eyes. Suddenly Albus had an idea. He smiled, "watch this" he nudged Elphias and then cast the spell.

Suddenly Abraxius lost his balance and fell into the water. His friends started to look around, trying to see what had happened. The man who was standing on their boat turned beetroot red. He immediately leaned over and pulled Abraxius out, dripping wet. Abraxius was staring daggers at Albus, who just gave an overly motherly concerned look which infuriated Abraxius even more. "It was him!" Abraxius yelled, pointing at Albus!

"Him? But how?" The tall man snarled, turning around in the boat quickly. "He's only a bumbling idiot who thinks it funny to push other people into the water. He was nowhere you, you great buffoon!"

"I don't know, but it was him, I promise." Abraxius said, never leaving the other boy's eyes.

"Don't be ridiculous, Abraxius. We're just first years, no one could do something like that," one of the girls said.

"And he doesn't even have his wand!" The other twin finished.

Albus felt very smug but decided that it would be a good idea not to let people know, and so did everything he could to stop himself from laughing. But as soon as the other boat pulled away – "No more funny stuff, you two, I'm warning you", the man gave them a stern look – they all fell into the fit of giggles, Elphias and Albus over his little trick and the two girls over Abraxius falling in. Only Albus and Elphias knew what had really happened, although Abraxius was soon to find out. And only they would ever know. Soon they had pulled up to the shore with no further incident, exchanging names (the two girls were called Anaya and Roshni Shah) and talking about their life before Hogwarts.

Finally they reached the shore and _carefully_ getting out the boat, they walked up to the beautifully carved entrance to Hogwarts, magnificently looming over them, like a glittering jewel in the night sky. As they walked up the double doors opened, as if by magic (oh wait, it _was_ by magic!) and they entered the majestic castle, Hogwarts. Albus had finally made it.

The started towards one side and climbed one of the ornately decorated staircases, with moving portraits chattering among themselves as the first years all walked in, eyes wide with appreciation at the most magic any of them had ever experienced. Finally they reached their destination, where a teacher was waiting to welcome them into the school.

"Hello, hello! Welcome everyone to Hogwarts, the finest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry around. My name is Professor Limebert, and I am the Deputy Headmaster of the school. Here you will learn fine arts, from potion brewing to magical creatures, from transformation to spells. The school is a place of opportunities to excel and to drive your magical talents further, for which reason you were chosen to join Hogwarts. Make good use of your time here, because the world outside is not a safe place for witches and wizards like yourselves. It is a place full of evil and bad people and danger, but you will be trained here how to avoid this and become powerful, good witches and wizards. Ensure you stay on the correct side of magic, for it is a fickle thing, and if you start meddling in the dark arts, you will not be able to resist the urge of that evil art. I myself teach potions and cannot wait to teach each and every one of you the art, as I know my colleagues are too. We are now going to enter the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony, during which you are sorted into the four houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I am the head of Hufflepuff house and look forwards to meeting all you future 'puffs. Well then, any questions?"

No one put their hand up as the first years attempted to soak up the information which had just been given to them.

"Well then, we had better enter the ceremony before the hat becomes too bored!"

He turned on his heel and marched off towards another staircase and they snaked their way through Hogwarts, heads turning one way and another as they attempted to become familiar with their future home. In what seemed like no time at all they reached a large set of double doors which opened. Beyond was a grand room, extremely long and wide. At first sight it seemed that there was not a ceiling, but after a closer inspection Albus realised that it had been bewitched to look like the night sky. Candles floated around high above and glowed brightly. The hall was packed with chattering students who quieted as the first years entered.

Then the whispering started. Heads turned and eyes fell on Albus. Staring. Albus sighed-he was used to this treatment by now, but he was fed up with it all the same. He trudged into the room and sat down as the headmaster stood up to address the school.

"Welcome one and all, to the opening feast at Hogwarts this year. My name is Professor Trimble, headmaster here at Hogwarts and I wish to warmly invite you all to the sorting ceremony. Professor Limebert, if you would be so kind," He ushered the deputy onto the stage, carrying an old tattered hat. It vaguely looked like it had a mouth and other features, which greatly amused Albus. Professor Limebert sat it down on the chair and a moment of silence passed. Then it began to sing of all things...

"In days long ago, when I was not old,

There were four founders great,

Oh, Gryffindor, brave and bold;

Oh Slytherin, shrewd and cunning;

Oh, Hufflepuff, just and loyal,

Oh, Ravenclaw, good at winning!

They came together, and thought,

We'll make a great big school!

A great big castle they bought,

And ready they were for teaching.

But they pondered and wondered:

How to sort the students?

And then they became despondent;

Until the idea struck them gold:

Oh, oh, a sorting hat!

And then was legend olds,

Born, for it is true, here I am,

A part of great folklore;

Now, come, as they say, be a lamb,

And I'll tell you where you belong!"

A large applause erupted as it finished and slumped back down on its chair, and the students continued to clap enthusiastically for a long time. Finally Professor Limebert stood up, "Well, first years, when I call your name, come up here and put on the hat, which will sort you into houses." He pulled out a long list and then started to read off it. "Abbott, Gwendolyn."

A young girl with strikingly golden hair strolled confidently up onto the stage. She had deep blue eyes and smooth skin, turning many eyes. The boy sitting next to Albus was staring at her, mesmorised. She put the hat on and sat down. With barely enough time for the hat to sit on her head, the hat yelled.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The table on the far side of the hall started cheering and whistling as she joined their table and sat down happily.

The next name was called, "Ash, Amelia", who took considerably longer, but ended up in Gryffindor too. She was pretty too, with dark hair sweeping down her back, but she seemed a lot more nervous than the first girl. Beery, Herbert was placed in Hufflepuff, Professor Limebert's house and Alphard Black into Slytherin (a rather nasty looking bunch sitting closest to Albus). Alphard looked quite out of place amongst the thug-like characteristics of his fellow characteristics and looked rather pale. The next Black, Benjamin, was considerably worse, strutting about like he owned the place and got a hero's welcome from the Slytherin table.

The boy to Albus' right leaned over, "Right git, that one; he is the son of the Head of Slytherin, Professor Black. Alphard is his cousin, much nicer if you ask me." He whispered.

The flurry of names continued to close in on Dumbledore, until it too would be his turn to put on the hat. Whilst Elphias Doge, his friend from the train, stalled the hat for nearly five minutes, eventually being put in Gryffindor, delighting Elphias, Albus' nerves gathered in the pit of his stomach. Finally his name was read out and was striding purposefully up to the hat.

Before the crowd had been murmuring to accompany the ceremony, but now absolute silence descended on the room. Everyone's attention was unwaveringly on Albus. He put the hat on.

 _"_ _Interesting, very interesting. A brilliant mind, one of the best I've ever seen… Ravenclaw could be a winner for you. Yet there is so much talent, so much cunning… Slytherin is a place for greatness…"_ the hat thought into his head. He shivered as he thought of being put in Slytherin. He did not want to go there.

 _"_ _Not Slytherin then. But Hufflepuff is perfect for you—loyal, just—I see it all in you,_ Dumbledore _."_ It continued working its way around his head.

 _"_ _And at the same time, you would be perfectly suited as a Gryffindor, courageous and brave. Yes, you would make such a great Gryffindor, better than a Slytherin… I've never had a three way stall before. Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Hmmm… intriguing… that mind would be suited so well to Ravenclaw, no doubt. No? Ok then, if you are sure. Then I will probably choose_ GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted the last word to mild applause from the audience. Albus stood up and smiled. He was in Gryffindor.

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 **Albus is in Gryffindor! Surprise guys...**

 **The story will continue and I have some more fun ideas for what will happen in Albus' first lessons back - good ways to get to know his friends... Review and you will find out sooner.**

 **What do you think Albus is going to be getting up to in Hogwarts? Leave your thoughts below!**

 **I doubt that the next chapter will be up in the next two weeks, but maybe I can surprise you, hey?**

 **Read, enjoy and review! :)**


	8. Chapter 7 - The Feast

**Hello again! :)  
**

 **Uh yeah... sorry about the you know... long wait. But - I did say I would not update til June 21 so I guess this counts as early. Exams will not be finished by June 21 so do not expect regular uploading schedule...**

 **But I couldn't stay away from writing the whole time and I really want to get this story under way, so get ready, when June 21 comes up, I am going to try and make up for it all. No promises.**

 **Anyway, there should be a Colliding Worlds update/All's Fair update in 2 and a half weeks time, or around-about then anyway. I can't wait to get back to updating those stories regularly, so be prepared :) The only reason I got this chapter on this story up early was because it was half-finished to begin with!**

 **N.B - I just wanted to say that i recently noticed that this story has been unoffially copied and posted on some other sites under the alias rocketgod123 (postAbit and FictionHunt). This is not my doing and is not endorsed by me. I am trying to sort it out, but would love you guys to continue coming here to read the story and leave your lovely comments - if you follow the story, you can get automatic emails when I update!**

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 **shallow28867: I wasn't planning on it, but that is a great idea, so I might incorporate it, if I can?**

 **awynn22: Thank you very much! And I'm glad you liked the sorting hat song, it kinda just flowed onto the page. Minerva will not be in the story - she's definitely younger than Albus, considerably so - I would guess he taught her!**

 **Wonderlandian Me: Hehe, you think rightly! Really happy that you enjoyed that portion, I loved writing it. Can't say I'm a a fanatical Paddy's day supporter, but thanks! Hope you had a great day too (I know it was ages ago now...)!**

 **Bananacoolweird: Thanks for the comment, glad you liked it and my attempt at humour! Oh and spoiler alert, but I can tell you that Albus will be getting in trouble a lot *evilly rubs palms together as though plotting*.**

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 **Chapter 7 - The Feast**

Albus walked down towards the Gryffindor table as silence took hold of the room once again. He knew that they were all scared by him and a "boo" from the Hufflepuff table broke the silence, spurring others into action. They laughed at Gryffindor and Albus realised that he was making Gryffindor look bad. From now on, he decided, he would never be an embarrassment to his house again. Strong resolve settled in his mind and he ignored them, taking a seat next to Elphias and tuning out the rest of the ceremony. It finally ended with Lysandra Yaxley being placed in Slytherin, to the far table's cheers. He was sitting opposite the blonde girl, Amelia Ash, who had been called out at the start, along with the girl sitting next to her, Gwendolyn Abbott. Albus was starving and he was glad when the feast begun and all the food magically appeared on the table. Eyes widening, he stared at all the food on the table.

"Wow, this is spectacular," Elphias breathed, staring at the food in wonder. Albus had to agree. Tucking in, he grabbed a sumptuous dish which looked like lamb and started to eat. The other boy sitting next to him turned and tapped him in the shoulder. He had messy brown hair and striking blue eyes.

"Albus, I presume," the boy said, extending a hand.

"Of course," Albus said, raising his eyebrow, "and you are..?"

"Henry Potter, and this is Robert Weasley" he gestured to a freckled boy with orange hair, who waved, a pork chop in his mouth.

"Nice to meet you both. How was your first day in Hogwarts?" Albus continued, looking at them both.

"Well, not too different I suppose. Father was in Gryffindor before me, you see; and his father before him."

"And his father before him" Robert mocked, exaggerating Henry's slight arm movements and posh accent. Henry playfully whacked his arm and Albus laughed along with Robert and Henry.

"You're one to speak, your sister came here before you, and the other one, and the other one." Henry mocked as Robert ravished his next chop. Robert rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut up you. You," he said pointedly, "are just jealous."

"Of course he is," an older girl with straight ginger hair said, yanking her brother's hair. Robert yelped, sticking his leg out, but failing to trip her. "I'm Robert's sister," she said, looking at the rest of the Gryffindors "and a prefect here. I have to keep all the first years in line and I'm sure keeping Robert in line," she gave him a cheerful poke in the ribs, which he jumped at, "will make the job far more enjoyable. Anyway, I came to tell you that your timetables are in your room and that lessons will start tomorrow. And watch that toad of yours," she ended, giving Elphias an angry look. He just shrugged.

Robert and Henry continued to annoy each other with little jabs and jibes throughout the meal. "What about you, how are you enjoying your first day," Albus said, asking the two girls in front of him.

"Good thanks, a bit overwhelming, but I think I'm getting used to this whole magic thing." Amelia smiled, seeming in awe of everything which was going on around them.

"Oh, are you muggle born?" Elphias said, looking at her.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a whirlwind I suppose. I only found out about the whole magical world when I got my letter for Hogwarts. Parents aren't exactly happy with it at all," she muttered, looking quite upset.

"Oh, that sounds terrible." Albus said, looking at her, feeling genuinely sorry. He hadn't really thought about it from a muggle perspective before. He guessed that muggles probably would be quite upset by finding out something that huge-a complete change on their outlook on the world.

"It's ok, I guess." She smiled, perking up. "What about you, Gwendolyn?"

"Well, I grew up in a magical household, so I'm kinda used to it all. But Hogwarts is truly magnificent, it's really cool to be here." She smiled, and an amused smile crept into Albus' face as he looked over and saw Elphias mesmerised by her, he had to stop himself from laughing. They kept on chatting, laughter flooding the table constantly; Albus was really enjoying his first day at Hogwarts.

As Henry cracked another of his jokes and the table started laughing, he saw the girls on the other side quiet. He frowned, what was going on? Turning in his chair, he was met with the sight of a tall boy walking up to him, Abraxius at his side.

"Dumbledore," Abraxius purred, a smile drawn up on his lips.

"Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted calmly, rising from his seat, eyes locked with the blonde boy.

"Ah, here is the one you talked of, Abraxius. As unimpressive as you described, perhaps more so." The boy said, walking right up to Albus.

"Isn't it a fine evening," Albus said coolly, barely missing a breath.

"Skip the small talk, Dumbles, I was just coming to ask you to thank your father if he ever leaves Azkaban. Which my father thinks he won't, and my father is always right." He smiled cruelly.

"Is he now? Well, I don't care for my father's actions. I think most muggles are lovely, just some are not so nice. Like wizards; most," he gestured to the table behind him, "are lovely. Some, like you, aren't." He smiled as sweetly as he could to try to rub salt in the wound.

"I'll take that as a compliment. And yes, my father does tend to be right, as I'm sure you'll learn the hard way, you filthy traitor." He snarled, all pretence of warmth dissipating in an instance.

"Leave him alone!" Amelia cried, lunging over the table.

The boy merely laughed, waggling his wand. Albus realised what was about to happen just in time. Uttering the counter spell under his breath he swished his wand correctly and the disarming spell the boy had just sent spinning towards Amelia was deflected straight into the boy, who flew backwards into the nearby table and landed in the middle of a massive pie, splattering the food everywhere. Amelia, shocked by the outburst had retreated to the safety of sitting down away from the boy, silent and paled.

Silence fell. The hall had become quiet in an instant, as they noticed the little scuffle which had broken out. The Gryffindor table had all turned and stared at Albus who was standing, wand in hand.

"Albus Dumbledore," a loud voice boomed from above. Albus turned and looked at a man walking down towards him. He looked angry and was staring into his eyes. "How dare you, you cowardly thug, attack my son! Like father like son, I say." Eyes thunderous, he stepped closer to Albus and a whip flew out the end of his wand, slapping Albus' wrist. Breathing deeply, Albus ignored him. So, this was the father of that lovely boy. Good to know, he thought. As this happened, the boy who Dumbledore had pushed into the table was helped up and cleaned by his cronies.

"You know, I can smell a rotten egg from a mile away, and the second I heard you were coming to the school, I knew you'd be trouble -"

"That will be enough, Professor Black. Please deal with Mr. Dumbledore in an orthodox manner." A calm voice rose above the raging sound of Professor Black. It was Professor Trimble, eyes alert from on the high table. As Albus looked up, he silently thanked the headmaster. He seemed to have made an enemy in one teacher already. Voices started to rise and people seemed to turn their attention back to their dinners. Professor Black's son joined his father, sneering at Albus.

"Well, Albus, I'm afraid that violence, and attacking any pupil is not something which is acceptable in our school. Unlike how it may be at your home, we don't go around attacking people here." The man hissed, snarling at Albus. Apparently this man still had the ability to sneak jibes in at all points in a conversation. Albus couldn't bear it; he didn't mind people talking about him, but not because of what his father had done. Nearly losing his temper, he tried to count to ten before he ended up attacking a teacher.

"So you will be having detentions every night for a week with me. I have something special for you, so be in my office at 9pm sharp tomorrow." He finished and moved up to the teachers' table.

Albus turned to the Gryffindor table, but felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to the outstretched hand of the boy who had started all of this. "Benjamin Black. Nice to meet you, muggle lover," he sneered. Albus frowned, unsure whether to jinx him or shake his hand. In the end, he settled to ignore Benjamin's hand, for fear of getting another week's worth of detentions.

"A pleasure." He finished sarcastically as he sat down at the table. The girls and Elphias stared at him in awe.

"Albus, are you crazy?" Elphias exclaimed. "That's Professor Black's son." He said, incredulous.

"Thank you, Elphias, I realised that." Albus said dryly. The girls giggled and Henry burst into laughter with Robert.

"Good one there, Albus. The look on Benjamin's face was priceless!" Robert laughed even harder, slapping his knee.

"Chicken pie suits him. It's a good look, I think I'm gonna try it out, what do you think?" Henry said, exploding with laughter again. Robert was red from his laughter, almost the same colour as his hair.

"Might make an improvement," Gwendolyn laughed.

"Oi!" Henry shouted, but laughing even harder now. Robert almost fell off his chair and started gasping for air.

Albus, having a thoroughly good time now that they were laughing, noticed that one girl was being left out. She was staring at her plate of food and picking at it, sourly looking at it. Albus, never wanting someone to be left out, turned to her, sitting opposite Henry. "Hey, what about you, how are you enjoying your first day here?"

She looked up, staring at Albus. "I was enjoying it fine until you interrupted me."

"Oh, sorry." Albus said, not understanding what he had done wrong.

"Well, we're only trying to help," Gwendolyn said looking over at the girl. "What's your name?"

"Elizabeth Greengrass. But I go by Lizzy. Now leave me alone," she turned her face back to her full plate and continued prodding her food with her fork.

"We're only trying to be nice," Amelia said gently, trying to open her up.

"Well, stop then. I don't care for your kindness."

Albus decided it was not a good idea to continue to open up this girl, she clearly did not want to be talked to. Instead they returned to their prior conversation, chatting and laughing throughout the meal. As they were in a rapture of laughter due to one of Henry's hilarious gags, the headmaster stood up to address the hall.

"Sorry to disturb you in the midst of such a delicious meal, however I would like to give a few quick notices before we head to bed. First of all I would like to extend a special welcome to our new Professor of Care of Magical Creatures, Professor Hyslop, who we thank for coming as a replacement for Professor Plunkett, who has decided to go hunting for Portuguese Long-Snout Dragons. We would also remind pupils not to go about blowing up cauldrons after the accident last year which I think we would all rather not talk about." Some laughter arose from around the room, but the headmaster hushed them. "Anyhow, have a good year, and be sure to make it count." He looked around the room, and met Albus' eyes with a knowing look, "and remember; just because you feel obliged to act one way, it's not always how you must act. Do as you wish, not as others' do." His serious face studied the whole room as it sat there in silence. A smile formed on his face and the tension diffused quickly. "And that's all I have to say." he sat down and the prefects started to get up and shepherd people away.

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 **Well there it is: hope you like it!**

 **I certainly enjoyed writing it. What do you think of all the new characters? You may have recognized a couple of the surnames!**

 **Read, enjoy and review :)  
**


	9. Chapter 8 - A Potions Prickle

**Hey guys :)**

 **Long time no see...**

 **I'm back with some more of Dumbledore's Tale. I know, its the 25th June, not the 21st. But I had some other issues on my mind and I've also been posting some other stuff too. I'll give my excuse later on...**

 **But for now enjoy this super-long chapter as a celebration for summer and my end of exams! I can finally update! :D**

* * *

 **awynn22 - Thank you very much, glad you've been following- you won't have to wait long for the other ones, I hope. And thanks, exams are over so I hope they went well (finger's crossed). Also glad that you enjoyed last chapter! And no, I didn't write _Harry_ Potter, but its the same family :o Should be updates on all my stories soon/now.**

 **guest - Haha, no worries, I'm definitely going to use it - not sure if Dumbledore will cause it or not though :)**

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 _Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe._  
Albert Einstein

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - A Potions Pickle**

 _Albus heard the scream. The same scream which had haunted him for many years. He felt unable to move, crushed beneath his guilt as he was forced to move with his former self, the scream getting louder as he got nearer. Stones tumbled under his feet as he sprinted as quickly as possible to the scene. Black washed over him._

 _There he was, watching as Arianna screamed and cried, writhing in pain. He was helpless to move, trapped under the boy's weight. He couldn't help her, he couldn't help her… He watched as her tears cascaded down her face, eyes red and puffy, screeching for help, desperate for Albus to come and help her-help he could not give._

" _Ari-Ari" he croaked, squashed under the weight of the boy. He should have helped her, he needed to… but he couldn't. He lay there, knowing that this was it, hoping for some miraculous saviour. Somebody must help… somebody... black flooded his mind once more._

* * *

"Albus" someone said gently, piercing through his dream. "Albus wake up, it's just a dream."

Albus jumped up, eyes opening in an instant. They were swollen and slightly red and a tear stained his face. He was met by Elphias' face looking at his, worry etched across his face. Albus breathed a deep sigh, relief washing over his body as he tried to forget what had just happened. _It was just a dream._ "Elphias…" he choked, pretending it was nothing. "Sorry," he managed a smile, trying to wipe away his tear subtly. He rolled over, about to get up, and noticed everyone else in the room huddled around his bed. There was Henry and Robert from yesterday, looking quite worried and another boy who he did not recognise. He had wide, curious eyes, a thin face and a neatly combed set of jet black hair. As he was about to sit up, a caw interrupted his thoughts and Fawkes the phoenix came and sat on his shoulder.

 _Do not cry, young one. It will be fine._ The Phoenix said in his mind and a flood of warmth spread across his body. He felt much better already-the phoenix seemed to understand everything which had happened and instantly calmed him down.

"Sorry, everyone," he announced as he got up feeling refreshed. He stroked Fawkes who was eyeing him curiously. "Bad dream". He yawned and looked at the clock. It was five thirty in the morning.

"No problem. You sure you're okay?" Henry quizzed his eyes meeting Albus'.

Albus shielded his feelings and shone back with a twinkle in his eye. "Of course, just a little homesick, that's all." He laughed as he said this, putting the others at ease.

"Well, there's no point going back to bed now," Robert piped, "so we may as well stay up-besides I'm far too excited to go back to sleep."

The others muttered in assent and sat down on their beds. Albus was far too excited to try to go back to bed too and so instead they started pondering about what they would be doing that day.

"We have Potions first with Mr. Limebert," Henry read off his timetable, "then History of Magic," he groaned at the same time as Robert.

"Are you kidding me?" Robert exclaimed. "History of Magic's the worst-that's the only thing all my sisters agree on. Professor Binns has been here forever!" he groaned.

The rest of them laughed, "Well, I'm sure we can all make it more interesting," Albus joked. His eyes met with Henry and Robert and a knowing look passed between them. "And we have Transfiguration and Herbology in the afternoon." Albus finished, inspecting his timetable.

"Could be worse," the other boy shrugged, "they sound pretty interesting to me." As everyone turned to look at the boy at the far corner of the room, poking his head above the book he was reading ( _A History of Magic_ by Bathilda Bagshot, Albus noticed), the boy felt the need to introduce himself. "Hector Vector," he introduced himself, extending his hand to the nearest to him, which happened to be Elphias.

"Elphias Doge."

"I'm sure you know my name already," Albus smiled knowingly.

"Albus Dumbledore," Hector replied, looking him in the eye. Albus inclined his head.

"Robert Weasley, and this is Henry," Robert announced, lightly shoving Henry in the back. Henry, despite barely losing his balance, made a drama of it, and sprawled onto the floor, acting hurt. A smile crept onto Hector's face as Robert howled with laughter.

Henry got to his feet, exaggerating the fall entirely and rubbing his 'sore' arm. "Ow!" he yelped, playfully punching Robert. "Why is it _me_ who always has to be the victim?" He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes. Albus rolled his eyes-these two were like a married couple. They would no doubt keep them entertained throughout the year.

* * *

They continued talking like this through breakfast, meeting the girls, who all joined the conversation except Lizzy, who very much kept to herself. The other two girls in Gryffindor were Emma Smith, a timid muggleborn and Sophie Nott, a loud, but friendly witch.

They were walking to their first lesson, Potions with Professor Limbert, when they ran into a certain tall boy with raven black hair, another two boys seemingly plastered to his side. One was Abraxius Malfoy, and the other, although Albus did not know him, looked large and sinister-a slytherin no doubt. All of that could only mean one thing. They had run into Benjamin Black.

"Oh, look what we've got here," Black sneered at them.

Albus wanted to roll his eyes, but instead played it cool. He really did not need another week's worth of detentions after less than 24 hours at his new school. "Black, Malfoy; a pleasure as always. Well, we'll be on our wa-"

"Oh no you won't!" Abraxius interrupted slyly, walking forward quickly, grasping at Albus' wand. He tripped up over Gwen's foot though and ended up crashing onto the floor. As he had fallen through, he had grasped at the nearest thing, Gwen's bag and held on tight enough to rip it and her books fell out on top of him.

"Whoops. Didn't see you there Abraxius," she made an innocent face. Anger flooded him and he tried to get up. But as he did so, Professor Limebert turned the corner and very nearly tripped up over him. As he did so, the contents of his arms, which had been very full, spilled over Abraxius. With these on him as well as the books, all that could be seen was the shocked expression on Abraxius' face and his blond mop of hair.

"What on earth are you doing you foolish boy? Get up and pick my ingredients up too!" As he looked around, he noticed Gwen's ripped bag and put two and two together. "And pick this girl's books up too, whatever were you thinking?" He proclaimed. "Come on! All of you," he glared at Albus and his friends, "help him out. You can all stay behind after my lesson and help put these supplies away." Then he turned, puzzled, to Abraxius who had just got up from underneath the pile of stuff, "What are you even doing here, aren't you in Slytherin?" Limebert glared at him accusingly as he scrambled off looking for his friends, who had scarpered.

Albus entered the Potions classroom with his friends behind Professor Limebert, trying not to laugh. He saw his friends having similar predicaments as they strode into the room too. He placed the supplies which he had picked up off Malfoy on the teacher's desk and proceeded to sit down and one of the further back seats. Elphias sat down on his right. Amelia joined them, sitting down next to Albus. As Henry and Robert neared they realised that there were not enough seats for them both and they sat in the back row, just behind Albus and Elphias. Emma sat down next to Amelia on their row and Gwen next to Sophia towards the front. Just then the Ravenclaws, who took Potions with them, filed into the room too.

Albus watched as they filed into the room, noticing the boy from the boat ride, who was once again dressed in black and looked like he could not find a worse place to be. A scowl was smeared across his face and he sat down in a seat the farthest from any other Gryffindors. They all came and sat down in the class, some joining the Gryffindors, and others sitting next to their fellow Ravenclaws.

"Right," Professor Limebert said from the front of the class, "I think that before we start we should separate a few of you." He scoured the class, checking for any people he thought would be troublesome. His eyes settled on the people just behind Albus-Robert and Henry. "You two," he ordered, pointing at the two boys, "there is absolutely no way a Weasley is sitting next to a Potter in my class. You two are far too much trouble alone, never mind together. Potter, move. Swap with Reuben over there-" he pointed at a two seater desk which had Reuben and another girl seated on.

Reuben looked very much like a sensible boy who seemed to be the only person Robert Weasley would not be able to fool around with in the class. He had thick glasses which his long black hair fell onto. The girl at the desk had beautiful long ash brown hair which cascaded down her shoulders, framing her vivid green eyes and slender figure. As Henry lazily got up, Albus noticed that he was staring intently at the girl. He plonked himself next to the girl, extending his hand to her and she shook it politely. Reuben on the other hand, glared at Robert as Robert introduced himself to Reuben. Henry glanced backwards and met Reuben's eyes and Albus watched as they had a silent conversation, ending with Henry winking at Robert, who disguised a snort of laughter that had escaped him as a cough.

The seating arrangements remained the same other than that, but Professor Limebert followed with a warning that if anyone started messing around, they would be moved too. He proceeded to teach them about the importance of the Antidote to Common Poisons and went through the recipe in class.

"Right then, this is a pretty basic procedure, and it should take you no longer than until the rest of the lesson. Work with the person sitting next to you. Please try not to blow up cauldrons or ruin my newly arranged ingredients cupboard. Oh, and for heaven's sake, do _not_ put the bezoar in after the unicorn horn, it will not end well." He looked accusingly around the classroom, daring anyone to try.

Albus collected the bezoar and mistletoe berries, whilst Elphias collected the Standard Ingredient and unicorn horn. Soon they had everything ready. Their potion making was going well so far-Albus made sure he followed the list precisely and stopped Amelia (who was working with Emma next to them) from exploding the cauldron when she nearly overheated it.

"Thanks," she whispered, looking guiltily at Albus. Professor Limebert was on the other side of the classroom and still had no idea about the narrowly averted crisis.

"No problem," he waved it away, "easy mistake to make." The lesson continued without hitch, and Albus added their final ingredient, looking satisfied. Elphias had let Albus do most the work, although Albus had asked him to do lots of the trivial tasks to ensure he at least felt involved. Professor Limebert was just inspecting their potion and stirred it when a cry came from the other side of the classroom.

"Just let me add it!" The girl sitting next to Henry shouted.

"Are you kidding me? I crushed it, and I don't want you ruining the potion again!" Henry retaliated, grabbing the ingredients which she held above her head.

"That was you, not me! Stop being so big-headed you arrogant berk!" She cried as he dumped the ingredient into the potion.

"Oh dear," Professor Limebert whispered.

BOOM!

The cauldron exploded and the contents went flying, covering the walls, everybody's faces and their robes.

"MR. POTTER! What in the name of Godric Gryffindor are you doing?" Professor Limebert hollered, towering over the red-faced boy. "What about 'gently drop a couple of the berries into the potion' did you not understand? Gently Potter, gently-not dump them in. And do you not understand that when it is said to drop two in, that does not mean a whole handful!" He turned to the girl, who was looking distraught, a green gloop running down her tear-strewn face. "And you two should not have been arguing and disturbing my class. Fifty points from Gryffindor for pure idiocy," he glared at Henry, who was now the shade of magenta, "and ten points from Gryffindor for pointless bickering. Oh, and Potter," he spat, "join me in detention every night this week. I have some _fun_ tasks for you." Henry groaned.

Suddenly the girl burst into tears and stormed out of the room, leaving Henry bewildered as she shoved past him.

* * *

"Well that was an eventful lesson," Albus looked at Elphias as they walked out. He nodded in agreement. Everyone was chattering around him, and one Ravenclaw girl had rushed off to find the one who had stormed off.

"I feel so bad for that poor girl," Amelia sympathized as she strolled out with them. "Henry was being… quite irritating. He can be a bit selfish sometimes."

They could all agree with that-he may have been funny, but Robert and him were slightly annoying sometimes, and modest would be nobody's first choice of word to describe them.

* * *

History of Magic was a blur of boredom, and nearly no one took notes, other than Hector, Emma and Amelia, although the latter gave up over after falling asleep three times. Professor Binns never noticed though as he droned on throughout the lesson, as always. None of the Slytherins paid an ounce of attention, although Albus decided to avoid a confrontation this time.

Lunch and Herbology were a blur, and although it was interesting to learn about the plants, it was uneventful as opposed to the morning Potions lesson.

As the bell went Albus headed to his final lesson of the day, Transfiguration.

He entered and sat down next to Elphias, as Robert and Henry snickered together at the back of the classroom. This lesson was shared with the Ravenclaws, who soon enough entered the classroom too. They separated themselves from the Gryffindors, sitting as far away as possible, no doubt because of the incident in Potions that morning. Henry, who was sitting in the far back right corner, was farthest away from the girl he had previously upset, who had returned to classes, but gave him a deathly stare.

"Books out, class, today we will be learning about the first few chapters of _Beginning Transfiguration,_ which I asked you all to get." Everyone took out their books and they were lain on the desks. "I'm Professor Faulk and today we will be learning about the tricky art of transfiguration." As he said this he pointed his wand at Elphias' copy of _Beginning Transfiguration_ and transformed it into a dove. It fluttered away from Elphias onto Professor Faulk as a gasp escaped the class. "At first it will no doubt be difficult, however you will soon accustom to this tough art. Today we will learn about the basics of transfiguring…" Professor Faulk gave an animated talk about transfiguration and introduced the basic spells and how to go about them. "The first one we will learn is _Mutatio_ , latin for change," he explained, teaching them how to go about it. Once finished, he set the class off to have a go themselves. Slowly chatter filled the room.

"Right, Elphias, you go first," Albus said, putting his quill in front of him. Elphias frowned, before waving his wand in something which sort of resembled the wand movement Professor Faulk had shown him. As he muttered the spell, the quill flew forward, spilling ink all over Amelia, who was sitting in front of them.

"Oops," Elphias stammered guiltily, "S-sorry Amelia, I didn't mean to do that."

Amelia looked at him kindly, brushing it off, "Don't worry Elphias, I already have green mess in my hair already." They all laughed, remembering the morning's disaster.

"Here," Albus said, pointing his wand at her hair, " _Nescio!"_ He muttered, and the black streaks in her hair disappeared.

"Thanks," she chimed, smiling at him.

"Least I could do," Albus smiled. He turned back to Elphias, "my turn now." He put the quill back on his desk and successfully transfigured the quill into an ink pot.

"Very good," Professor Faulk clapped, "but there's no ink in the pot. Have another go, I'm sure you'll get it next time." He leaned in, whispering in Albus' ear, "Great stuff Albus, perhaps work on your wand movement and pronunciation, and you'll have it in no time." Professor Faulk continued around class, helping the students (especially Elphias) and excitingly shouting when one got it right. Before he knew it, class was over.

"Great job everyone," Faulk smiled, "you've all had a great lesson. I'll have a half foot on the basics of transformation for Wednesday please. Oh and Mr. Doge, here is your textbook, you will no doubt find it useful for your homework." He winked, returning the dove to Elphias' arm, transforming it back into his textbook. "Class dismissed." He called, watching them as they filed out.

"Albus," he started, "could you help me with something for a second." Faulk's eyes were fixed on Albus as he approached the teacher's desk. Finally the door shut as the rest of the class exited. "I noticed that you really excelled in today's lesson-you seemed to already know what you are doing."

Albus shrugged, "Beginner's luck, I guess."

Faulk raised an eyebrow, "Was cleaning Miss Ash's hair luck too?" Albus didn't reply. "Albus, you have a very special talent and I don't think that this class is challenging enough for you. Although I can still make you fill up your ink pots, you still managed it second try, and not a single other student even made a pot as good as yours, never mind get any ink in it. I want to offer you some private lessons just to help you with some advanced magic, it could come in handy one day." He offered.

Albus was amazed-he thought he would be in trouble for trying all this magic, but instead he was being offered _extra_ help. "I would love that," he grinned.

"Good," Faulk agreed, "how does this Wednesday sound?"

Albus finalised times with Faulk and then went to start the homework which had been set. Despite being the first day, none of the teachers has held back and he had plenty of work to do. After an uneventful dinner he finished off his homework and at quarter to nine he left his friends to go to detention with Professor Black, anxious not to be late and give him another excuse to give Albus another detention.

He swiftly walked along the deserted corridors, his feet hitting the hard flagstones and echoes ricocheting off the walls. Finally he reached Professor Black's office and he knocked on the door.

"Enter," Black snapped. Albus walked in and took in the office. It was virtually bare except for a heavyset stone desk and a small chest of drawers. On one wall a small tapestry was hung, sporting the title, " _The Black Family Tree."_

"You're late," Black snarled. Albus looked at the time. He was five minutes early. He ignored it. "Anyway, I'll let you off this once because I guess you are a _Dumbledore_ and are probably incompetent enough to get lost in the corridors." A gleeful look was filling his face. "And I have a very _fun_ task for you today. Give me your wand," he ordered. Albus pulled out his wand and handed it over. A smirk spread across Black's face, "now go clean all the candelabras in the Great Hall. By hand. No magic and no cheating. If you miss a single one I will have you in for another week's worth of detention." Black tossed him a small cloth and gestured for him to leave.

Albus caught the cloth and left, muttering a thank you. It was going to take _ages._ He had only been at the school for a day, but he knew that there were plenty of candelabras in the Great Hall. He sighed-he wouldn't be getting an early night tonight. As he reached the hall he gripped the cloth in his hand and started vigorously scrubbing the first candelabra, prepared for a long night.

Four hour later, after a long time of scrubbing and scouring, Albus reached the final candelabra and finished scrubbing. As he exited to go back to bed, he walked sleepily through the corridors of the castle, which were eerily silent. Suddenly Albus heard footsteps. He stopped. Nothing.

He shook his head, he was being paranoid. No one was there. He continued on towards Gryffindor tower, mentally berating himself. Just then he noticed the footsteps again, muffled behind the next wall-but they were getting louder and louder, closer and closer. Someone was there.

* * *

 **Well that's it, so I hope you liked it!**

 **What did you think of the teachers, lessons and other pupils? And who do you think the person around the corner is? Please feel feel to review - you can ask me something, suggest something, say what you predict will happen or just say what you thought - I'd love to hear from you!**

 **A few notices: First off, sorry it took me so long to write that chapter, I was very busy with exams and other stuff and I've also updated Colliding Worlds twice! So go check that out too! There will be updates for Colliding Worlds soon and also for All's Fair too.**

 **Secondly, now that it's summer for me and I have a lot more freedom to write as and when I like I will once again be updating at least once a week. Unfortunately I am very busy over summer and with Colliding Worlds and All's Fair as well as this, I don't think I'll be able to update more than once a week, but I assure you, your reviews speed up my writing immensely, as they inspire me to keep writing.**

 **Thirdly, as you may know from my Colliding Worlds story, I now have a Tumblr account! On it I will be posting sneak previews of future chapters for my stories and I will also post when a new fan fiction chapter has come out. So you should go follow my account, percy-the-sorcerer. The link is: "** **percy-the-sorcerer . tumblr . com"** **without the spaces or speech marks. I'm happy to answer any questions you have about my writing/fanfictions and I also have some other one shots and head-canons over there!**

 **With that all said, please check out my tumblr and don't forget to review - would love to get to 25 quotes by next chapter! :)**

 **Read, enjoy and review :)**


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